Deposit Refunds

Hi, I had the usual consultation and phone calls about having lens replacement treatment the advisor was in my opinion pushy but thought they would be helpful and ok. I paid my £500 deposit on 11th April but having read further horror stories and now with the cost of living and financial difficulties decided I couldn’t go ahead with it . I requested a full refund of my money which I paid on my cc yesterday the 11th may which was 30 days . But I was told via email I was only half in store credit for the future. I’m looking for help if possible to retrieve all my deposit. Please help . I’ve emailed to the Sasha email address with my name and number. Thank you for looking and hopefully I’ll be successful with getting my refund back. Thank you.
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admin: Nothing received from you
Pls send again: sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

I had a laser surgery consultation on 13th of April 2022 in Milton Keynes. After all the tests I was told that I was a suitable candidate for LASEK Idesign. I was told that to secure a date I needed to pay £500 as a deposit. The date of surgery was the 1st of June.
Since then I have found so many things that can go wrong with laser surgery that I wasn't told and it's irreversible.
Today I had a phone call with a clinician but I don't know their name or what their job is. The lady was trying to reassure me but in all honesty my gut feeling was saying no don't get it done.
I callied customer care to cancel I was told that I would not be receiving my full refund and that they would keep 50% of my deposit for admin fees.
I dont think this is right or fair because I was not told this when they took my £500. I didn't sign anything and I hadn't seen this at all until I cancelled.
Please can you help me?


admin: Please send your phone number to sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.
The company has no legal right to keep your deposit - and they know this

My brother, Stephen, had a free consultation for lens replacement at Optical Express Glasgow on 2nd April 2022.

He only wanted information but he told me he was heavily pressured into going ahead and agree to surgery without any chance to do any research. He asked if they’d do one eye at a time but they told him both would be done on the same day because it would be easier for my brother and save him time off work.

He was informed that he would have a consultation with the surgeon on the day of the surgery but he wasn’t even told the doctors name. I find this to be very unprofessional he should have been booked in to see him well before the Lens Replacement surgery?

He has since read up on this company and has decided not to go ahead with the surgery booked 6th May he paid a £500 deposit on the same day.

Stephen contacted OE in Glasgow last week to cancel the surgery, but he then received a call on Sunday 24th April to discuss his surgery! He informed the woman that he had sent an email stating that he wanted to cancel the surgery and get a full refund, she simply said okay.

He has had no confirmation of the cancellation or refund in writing. Please can you help?
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admin: Operating on both eyes on same day has nothing to do with saving your brother time, it’s to cut their costs, because if done on separate days they’d have to pay the surgeon twice!
Please email sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk for further advice, because I can assure you that they have no legal right to keep Stephen’s deposit

Good afternoon,

I was supposed to have LASEK surgery on Thursday 14th April but I cancelled on the day as I lost confidence in Dr Mani and the safety of the surgery.

My first consultation with Dr Mani at Optimal vision in Harley Street was good and he explained that I would need LASEK as my corneas are too thin to have LASIK.

I was worried and concerned after being told that so I went to Optical Express and asked the optician if I was suitable for LASEK and they informed me that my cornea is too thin "according to international law" and due to that reason I could not go ahead with any laser surgery. They did offer me lens exchange but when i did some research I discovered that I am too young for this as I'm only 37.

I told Dr Mani that I'd been told by someone else that my corneas were too thin for any laser surgery and he informed me that according to his system I could get surgery and it shouldn't be a problem but he did not tell me of the serious risks I found out later.

I was not feeling well on the day of surgery and my blood pressure was high and I was very nervous and worried after what Optical Express had told me so it was absolute luck that there was a demo outside the Optimax building where I was due to have surgery.

The people outisde gave me information that Dr Mani had not mentioned about how many things can go wrong. They also told me that a number of Dr Mani's patients are suing him. If I had known any of this from the start I would never have considered surgery. I also have a problem with my left eye and I have now been advised to see a specialist about this and wonder why Dr Mani agreed to operate without checking the cause.

I went in to Optimax and I was informed at the reception I would not be getting my £500 deposit back when i told them I was cancelling. I waited to speak with Dr Mani but he was busy and I was feeling unwell to wait any longer so I did not even speak to him and left.

I believe I am entitled to get my money back and would appreciate it if someone could please help me because when I was asked to pay the deposit I was very much surprised that Optimal Vision asked me to pay by bank transfer and not by credit card. I realise now that is probably to stop people like me claiming their money back under Section 75.

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Asif
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admin: I find it in incredible that Dr Mani agreed to operate on you when Optical Express refused!
I think there may be grounds for a complaint to the GMC in regard to his not having addressed the problem with your L eye (that I saw myself - one of the people you met outside Optimax last week), and when you have seen a specialist I will advise you further
In the meantime, please send your phone number to sasha@mybeautifuleyes.co.uk

Hi Sasha,

just to let you know that I have received my refund from Optical Express today. So glad I found your foundation, thank you so much for your help with my returned deposit!!

To anyone reading with the same problem, please do not hesitate to use this team to assist you, I would highly recommend them.

Tracy

Hi Sasha, I took my son Morgan who is 18 to Optical Express at Preston on 22/1/22.

He had an eye test (which I didn’t attend) but was there to talk to the optometrist afterwards and he said that Morgan was suitable for LASIK surgery.

I paid the £500 deposit and we booked in for 13/3/22 at Manchester. In the meantime, Morgan's dad went to his local optician for an eye test and mentioned that our son was having surgery. The optition advised him to check the surgeon and not to get it done at 18 as they could ruin his eyes for life.

After checking the negative reviews of the surgeon, we talked it through and luckily decided to cancel the operation. I phoned up and cancelled then a few days later phoned again as Morgan kept getting emails about the surgery.

When I phoned again they said that as Morgan had not cancelled in time we could only get half of my deposit back in vouchers to spend at their shops.

I have been phoning to check the refund/vouchers and they have said that I am not eligible for a refund and to check the paperwork I received.

Found your site and hoping you can advise me on how to obtain my deposit back please?
Thanks Tracy
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admin: OE have absolutely no legal right to keep your deposit, any of it. Nor do you have to accept vouchers.
Please send your phone number and I'll be happy to help you
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmyife.co.uk

After posting here [17 November] Claire Millen at Optical Express phoned to try to reassure me that the reason David Teenan has more complaints than others is that he does more surgeries. She offered me a different surgeon but I said I had lost confidence in them and wanted a full refund. My £500 was refunded. Thank you for your help.

I had a consultation in January for Lasek eye treatment which I was told I was suitable for. So I paid a £500 deposit with no mention of a credit check. They ran credit check 7 days before surgery day and it was refused.
I haven’t spoken to the surgeon and don’t know their name. And my surgeries planned location was Newcastle which is about an hour away from Middlesbrough, where I live.

Can you help me please?

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admin: OE have absolutely no legal right to keep your deposit. Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmyife.co.uk

Hi

On 11/11/21 I went in to Optical Express clinic for a free Consultation for laser eye surgery in the Nottingham branch, the woman who dealt with me throughout was Amy. I had all my checks and and was told I’m a suitable candidate.

She took me to a room and started pushing me to book dates as she said they were getting booked up fast, and I needed to leave a deposit to secure a date for surgery and that I could always cancel. She booked me in for surgery on 23/11/21 with Dr Muhammad Kazmi. Also she said she will call me on 12/11/21 to discuss further however she failed to do so.

I googled the surgeon's name and came across this forum page and I have seen how many bad reviews are on it.

On 16/11/21 I rang the branch and was told Amy was on leave and that I was speaking to Sharon. I told her I felt too rushed and needed more than 12 days to prepare for a life changing decision. She said there was more risk of getting problems with contact lenses than with laser surgery and when I said I don't wear them she said wearing glasses was risky if you fall over.

She then started to ask me if I wanted to delay it for another month, I replied I would rather cancel for now. She then became very rude and her whole tone changed and I knew she was more interested in the sale rather than customers.

I have left a £500 deposit but they will only refund £250 as they say I should have read the terms and conditions, and that Amy would have told me this however she never mentioned anything to me about this, she just couldn’t wait to take my money.

Is there any way I can get my money back?

Thank you
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admin: Pls send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmyife.co.uk

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2 February 2022

admin: Aqeel contacted me, and after following my advice he was very quickly refunded in full. Unfortunately he can’t find time to update his post with this news

Hi all,

Below is my experience:

I attended a free consultation at the Manchester clinic on 19/10/2021 where I was informed I would have been an excellent candidate for LASIK with iDesign given my prescription was largely unchanged, slightly short sighted with astigmatism, and was explained the risks of the procedure on this basis we’re extremely low and was encouraged to continue with this processes.

I was quoted £3690 for treatment of both eyes. Following my initial consultation and information provided I decided to proceed with the treatment and paid optical express £2390 on 21/10/2021 for the deposit and some of the total cost of the surgery along with setting up a finance agreement for the remaining balance.

On the day of my surgery 19/11/2021 I arrived at Optical Express Manchester where I was due to undergo this treatment with Dr Muhammad Kazmi. Upon arrival I was asked to repeat all the tests from the initial consultation.

Following completion of these tests I had a final consultation with Dr Kazmi to cover the results and expectations. I was then told that I was in fact Long-Sighted not short-sighted and that as a result the risks of this surgery were much changed from my initial consultation. I was told that there would now be a 10% chance the surgery would make absolutely no difference to my vision and a chance that this caused irreparable eye damage for the rest of my life. Adding to this the procedure would not seek to fully address my new found long sightedness and instead he would look to adjust it by 0.25. I obviously cancelled the impending surgery as I was not remotely aware of the realities of what I had been sold.

I feel completely mislead by this entire experience and cannot believe that only 5 minutes prior to entering the surgery I was finally explained the reality of the situation. Upon leaving the clinic I asked about when I could be expected a refund and was told that someone would contact me which has not happened. After reading some of the posts on this site I can already see how this is going and would appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks,
CM
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admin: Besides the other issues, the optom who referred you MUST be reported to the GOC.
Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmyife.co.uk
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admin: Unfortunately CM can’t find time to update his post, so I have done it for him

2 Dec 2021 CM wrote:

Hi Sasha,
As if by magic, I’ve just had the following confirming a full refund.
Thanks for all your help,
C